NFL executives tackle the Tedford dilemma

Ira Miller, Chronicle Staff Writer

Published 4:00 am, Sunday, April 10, 2005

Photo: ROGELIO SOLIS

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California football coach Jeff Tedford looks up at the scoreboard in the fourth quarter as their game against Southern Mississippi winds up in Hattiesburg, Miss., Saturday, Dec. 4, 2004. California keeps its hopes for a Rose Bowl berth open with a 26-16 victory. (AP Photo/Rogelio Solis) Ran on: 12-06-2004
Cal's Jeff Tedford wonders aloud how many coaches west of the Rockies have a BCS vote. It's 20 percent (12 of 61), which Tedford did know and it supports his point. Ran on: 01-02-2005
Pitcher Alan Embree (top) celebrates the Red Sox's World Series victory over the St. Louis Cardinals. less

California football coach Jeff Tedford looks up at the scoreboard in the fourth quarter as their game against Southern Mississippi winds up in Hattiesburg, Miss., Saturday, Dec. 4, 2004. California keeps its ... more

Jeff Tedford, the Cal coach, is highly respected for his work with quarterbacks. But some within the league fear that Tedford coaches his quarterbacks so well and has such a good offensive system that they are already as good as they're going to be by the time they reach the NFL.

Since Tampa Bay chose Dilfer with the sixth overall pick in 1994, Akili Smith, Boller, Joey Harrington and David Carr all were Tedford-trained quarterbacks chosen in the first round. Except for Boller, who was the 19th overall selection of the 2003 draft, they all were among the first three players picked in their respective drafts.

None of that group has become a star.

But Carr had a productive third year with Houston's expansion team in 2004 and appears on the verge of a breakthrough, and Boller has improved and should be helped by the Ravens' acquisition of wide receiver Derrick Mason. Harrington faces a critical year in Detroit and Smith was unquestionably a bust. Dilfer's career has been, shall we say, intriguing, but he has a Super Bowl ring.

"Most of those guys are young, and there's so much focus on them because they're first-round draft picks," Tedford said. "They're expected to be great right away, and there's a learning curve in the NFL. The verdict is still out on a few of them."

Ted Tollner, the Detroit offensive coordinator and former 49ers quarterbacks coach, says the knocks he hears about Tedford quarterbacks once were directed at BYU, which produced quarterbacks who had great statistics and fizzled in the NFL.

"The ones that just were in the scheme, and the system allowed them to have statistics, those are the ones I worry about," Tollner said. "Here, you're talking about a guy (Rodgers) with a strong enough arm, an athlete, he's got all the measurable things that you want.

"The fact that he was in a system that enabled him to produce rapidly, that was a bonus, and he was able to pick it up. It's when those kids are missing either athleticism or arm strength or release, or there are off-the- field behavior things, those are things that sometimes a system can compensate for a guy."

A West Coast scout for an NFC team, however, said Tedford's relatively low-risk offense is able to mask quarterback inadequacies. This is not a majority opinion in the NFL, but a few coaches share it.

"I have never once been told by an NFL guy that there's something holding one of our quarterbacks back because of fundamentals or technique or lack of learning," Tedford said. "They're all competitive; they're all very skilled. We run a complicated offense. They all get them on the (chalk)board before they draft them."

Chris Palmer, the Houston Texans' offensive coordinator -- Carr's coach -- points out the only player in the group already proven a bust was Smith. Another NFL coach says that wasn't Tedford's fault, saying, "Akili just didn't like football, and he never showed up to work at football in Cincinnati."

"Those guys who are factoring Tedford into their grade on Rodgers, it's not fair," said Bill Musgrave, the Washington Redskins' quarterbacks coach. "What are you supposed to do with a guy? You're supposed to get the most out of him. That's what coaching is all about."

The NFL -- well, first, the 49ers -- now must pass judgment on Rodgers, the latest Tedford protege. Tedford says Rodgers has "more natural" mechanics and fundamentals than either Harrington or Boller but cautions that, like all quarterbacks, much of his success will depend on the team he goes to, the offense he's asked to run, and the supporting cast around him.

"The teams that are drafting in those (high) positions are there for a reason," Tedford said.

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